HAMMERCON.ORG

Thanks for an amazing 5th HammerCon!

The HC26 Theme was:

Mastery in Action

Vigilant - Vicious - Victorious

HammerCon is the national convention of the

Military Cyber Professionals Association (MCPA)

and serves as the premier gathering of/by/for the

American military cyber community.

More than just another event with a bunch of

speakers, this is truly an experience.

Free attendance for US military and MCPA members.

- Tickets Will be Available Here-

The Call for Everything (CFE) will be found here

See highlights from previous HammerCons here:

Date and Location

HammerCon 5.0 is scheduled for Thursday 24 September 2026 at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel! It will be in the Kossiakoff Center (K-Center). Directions: From Johns Hopkins Road, turn onto Pond Road. The Kossiakoff Center is located on the left; general parking is to the lower right, off of Pond Road.

Timeline

On-site check-in/registration at 0800, opening ceremony kickoff at 0830, Mission BBQ lunch available beginning at 1200, closing ceremony at 1630, and post-event reception at 1700. More details about each track can be found below.

Pre-HammerCon Social

Pre-registered attendees are invited to a pre-HammerCon Social at TheLink in Columbia, MD. We thank the Technology Advancement Center (TAC) for the support! There are no other official/authorized HammerCon pre-parties or after-parties. MCPA members can pre-register now on the member-only intranet. Other HammerCon attendees will be able to register at a later date, depending on available space.

Classified Session

For select US military and government participants, "Day 0" activities will be conducted in a SCIF on Wednesday 23 September.

Scholarship

Information about the $20,000 Enlisted Child's Scholarship, to be awarded at the HammerCon closing ceremony, can be found here.

Cyber Bourbon

Pre-orders of Cyber Single Barrel Bourbon for pickup at HammerCon can be made here while supplies last. At the MCPA table at HammerCon, we will also be raffling off a full-sized barrel used by our distiller to make bourbon, as well as a bottle of Cyber Bourbon and 2 MCPA whiskey glasses. The raffle winner is announced at the closing ceremony, and they must be present if they don't want to claim their prize. The winner is responsible for transportation of the barrel from APL NLT noon the day after HammerCon.

Groups

Are you in a leadership role within a military cyber unit/org and want to bring your personnel to HC26 for their PD/training? We're happy to take them up to our max capacity. Firs come, first served! For ethics purposes, know HammerCon is a "Widely Attended Gathering" (WAG) that clearly supports the interests of the US government and its agencies.

Recognition

Nominate someone deserving to be recognized with the Order of Thor medal as part of the HammerCon closing ceremony (see nomination/ordering guidance here and on the member-only intranet).

Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

Remember that by attending HC26, you can earn continuing professional education (CPE) to maintain your certs (documentation form on the MCPA member intranet).

Uniform

The event organizers do not have any uniform guidance. You may come in your service dress uniform, hacker casual, business professional, cosplay, duty uniform, etc. It's up to you. We want you to be comfortable at your convention.

Commemorative Gift

The first 250 MCPA members to arrive at HammerCon (and all speakers) will be presented a special gift commemorating this most excellent of 5th annual national conventions! The American-made whiskey glass is infused with themes celebrating our 250th year of independence, including a musket ball lodged in it! If you're not already a MCPA member, why not? Join here. Please note that membership applicants are not members. We have a vetting process, which takes time. The glass is best used to enjoy our Cyber Bourbon. Order your bottle for pick-up at HammerCon! We have other 250th-inspired surprises up our sleeves, too.

Planned Activities: similar scope as last year, but more!

4 Tracks: main, research, commercial, and scholars/talent
Speakers, panels, and fireside chats on a diverse array of topics
Villages: IOT, RF, Maritime, and Soldering
Exhibitors: info tables from orgs across this community and beyond
VIP Lounge: GO/FO/SES, speakers, Advisors, and other special guests
Consumables: food, drink, and other free stuff
Cyber Single Barrel Bourbon pre-order pickup and real full-sized wooden barrel raffle

Tickets

Free for US military personnel (active, reserve, guard, and academy/contracted cadets) and MCPA members (which is free for US military, US government, and honorably discharged US military veterans). Small fee for US Government Civilian Employees. Larger/normal fee for others. Register ASAP before space fills up! Registration link will be live here until we run out of space.

A limited number of trusted members of the American press may be invited to HammerCon, provided they continue to adhere to our guidelines and make our attendees feel comfortable in their presence.

Speakers

Get ready to hear, meet, and interact with leaders and practitioners from across the broader military cyber community of interest. Find info about the speakers in each track.

Track Agenda: CORE

Track Agenda: NERD

Track Agenda: GIT

Track Agenda: STARS

Competitions

While many HammerCon exhibitors run competitions at their tables, Fiery Gambit and the HammerCon CTF are in a special category of awesome. The HammerCon CTF runs 23-24 Sept and is intended for those thousands of MCPA members who are globally deployed and unable to attend in-person. Fiery Gambit is a live hands-on competition that kicks-off at noon on the 24th. Our HammerCon badge even has a CTF, with competitive scoring opening at 0700 and ending 1200 on 24 Sept. Click below to find out more.

Fiery Gambit

HammerCon CTF

HammerCon Badge CTF

Exhibitors

We are welcoming a limited number of exhibitors that can provide information useful to American military cyber professionals. These exhibitors include military units, government offices, schools, industry, and/or nonprofits. If interested in exhibiting please contact christine at milcyber dot org.